Justin writes:
>I'm not sure this has been addressed and I'm curious...Does anybody
>in the east know why Garth Snow was not chosen as the All-Hockey East
>first team goalie?  I'm only familiar with Hockey East in a
>statistical sense, so maybe there is something I don't realize.
 
I think they didn't want to give it to anyone who might have been mistaken as
starring on Wayne's World. :-)
 
But seriously, Snow perhaps is a victim of little respect around the league
because of the team he has played for.  In defense of that viewpoint, he
has seen a lot fewer shots than many goalies in the league and hasn't had
that much of an effect on the outcome of a number of Maine's games.  Some
people think you could put Keith Instone in net up in Orono and he'd do just
as well.  But in defense of Snow, he has played well when the game was on the
line and his three losses were due more to the team not doing its job in front
of him than him not playing well.
 
Mark Richards of UMass-Lowell was named first team goalie, I believe, because
of several reasons.
* As a senior (Snow is a junior) who has been generally considered among
  the best goalies in the league despite not having the talent in front of
  him (and thus not having the numbers Snow did), there may have been a
  desire to reward him for his career accomplishments.
* Many people don't even think Snow is the best goalie on Maine and that
  he wouldn't have played so much if Dunham hadn't been hurt/gone with
  Team USA.  I don't know if this affected coaches' voting.
* Richards was superb in every game I saw him, often seeing 40+ shots and
  keeping the game to a low score.  Perfect example was one week in which
  he played all three games, saw over 40 shots in each and helped his team
  to a 2-0-1 record (wins over Yale and Merrimack, tie with BC), allowing
  just two goals in each game.  He was probably THE reason Lowell finished
  sixth and challenged for home ice much of the season.
 
Just on the strength of the 5-6 times I saw Richards this season, I'd have
to think his *performance* warrants first team recognition although his
numbers may not be as good as Snow's.  He was often hung out to dry and stood
on his head to keep Lowell in the game or ahead.  And this is not to slight
Snow in the least, but if we are to go strictly on performance, then I
think Richards is at least as deserving as Snow and so I can understand his
selection.  To put it simply, Snow probably didn't carry Maine to first, but
Richards likely carried Lowell to sixth.  It might not sound like much, but
looking at the talent level that Lowell had, it probably is worth a lot.
 
 
- mike